Brunswick Pro Bowling (Nintendo Wii)

Brunswick bowling

The Interface for Brunswick Pro Bowling is a bit different than Wii Sports Bowling. At first, you will be thrown off by the slow backswing of your bowler, but if you disregard it, and throw the ball like you normally would, things will be just fine. After all, bowling is about making the same throw every time, and adjusting where you stand, not adjusting your throw, per se.

You will become accustomed to the difference in style (compared to Wii Sports bowling) after a few games. Be patient and you will find this game can be just as addicting. One of the main differences in style is the addition of oil conditions on the lane. You will definitely notice that the ball reacts differently in the areas that are well oiled. You can also have two balls at your disposal, like in real bowling, where you would like a strike ball and a spare ball.

The career mode is set up of several `League Nights' in which you bowl 3 games against an opponent. Win 2 or more, and you will build up stats, but no money. In fact it costs money to participate in league nights. Eventually, you will get to a tournament, in which you can win some big cash. These comprise of 5-6 games, if you plan to win. There are also major championships. The career mode seems pretty well laid out in scheduling matters. I wish it was a little easier to make money along the way.

Yes, it is very slow to make money and there isn't a ton of stuff to buy. By the time you make enough money to buy anything, you'll question whether you'll want to change your entire style to adjust for the increased hook of the new ball. That's where practice mode comes into play. I bowled 6 sets of 3 games before I made it to a tournament in which I made any money.

Brunswick Pro Bowling keeps track of a good amount of stats, including your average, high score, # of strikes, spares, turkeys, etc.

One thing I didn't like about multiplayer, is that I couldn't find a way to use a separate controller for each player. Each player is forced to use the same controller, and that is just plain dumb. On a controller where it is advised to wear a wrist strap to protect your tv, I don't want to continuously trade off the controller every 30 seconds. What were they thinking?

Overall the presentation is a bit dry, and the music isn't great at all, but I've yet to play a bowling game with a rock n roll soundtrack anyway.

Those looking for a more in depth bowling game than Wii Sports will find it here, if you show a little patience to get past the presentation differences.

8 Fun

5 Graphics

8 Replay Value

8 Control Scheme

2 Multiplayer

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If only I could mesh Wii Sports Bowling with this version, I'd be happy. Wii Sports bowling is weak on graphics while the Brunswick bowling is great on graphics. I felt like I was in a real bowling alley, throwing my hook ball down the lane. I'm an avid bowler, so it was nice to have a realistic look and feel to the bowling experience.

But once you've learned how to use the Wii remote with the Wii Sports Bowling, you can become very confused on how to use the remote with Brunswick Bowling. This was the most difficult task. I must have stood in front of the television trying to figure out how to use the remote with this game for at least 10 minutes. I had to call my 10 year old daughter downstairs to see if she could get it. It was difficult for her too. The only person in the house that could grasp the concept of how to use the remote was my five year old daughter. At first I thought it was because she is shorter than everyone in the house. So I actually got down on my knees to her height and it still wouldn't work! LOL She had to teach me how to manipulate the darn thing to work. Besides this one little nuisance; and once I got the hang of how to use the remote, I had a good time playing it.

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I just received my game today and even though the game instructions are in French it took me about 20 minutes to figure out how the Wiimote controls the game.

If you are not an avid bowler or bowled alot in your younger years as I did I would not recommend this game and stick to Wii Sports bowling. It took me about 10 games to find out how to throw the ball with the existing lane conditions. I bowled one "League night" series and averaged only 84. Went to the practice game and rolled 222. I'm now ready to go back into match play and enjoy this game.

It doesn't move fast but I have all the time in the world being retired.

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